Monday, 19 March 2018

The cast for Long Day's Journey Into Night have had a busy first two weeks of rehearsals. Assistant Director George Nichols gives us the inside scoop on how they're getting on so far:

Long Day’s Journey Into Night takes place over one day in
the life of the Tyrone family. This week we’ve concentrated on the second half
of the play, which takes place in the late afternoon as it turns into night. As we discover more about the lives of the family we’ve had to learn more
about the world of the play too, so this week’s blog looks at some of the research
we’ve had to do.

An important but challenging aspect of the play that comes
to the fore as we move to
the latter scenes is the effect alcohol has on the characters. Attitudes
to drinking in 1911 were very different to today and many families
in America drank hard liquor habitually. At this time whisky was a common drink
to have with your lunch and in the decade before prohibition in the 1920s
America was consuming more alcohol per head than ever before. In the early 20th
century the US was a melting pot of different nationalities and the drinking
traditions of these countries, paired with the perception that alcohol was
safer than dirty water, contributed to a heavy drinking culture.

Understanding this culture has been important for the actors
because of its effect on the physical and mental capabilities of the characters
as they become more inebriated. One of the challenges is understanding how much
alcohol it takes to really affect the characters in the play, when the regularity
with which the characters drank meant they were much better at holding their
liquor than the average person from the 21st century. Another challenge is keeping track of how much a character has drunk to ensure their characteristics do not become inconsistent.

We want the world of the play to feel as real as possible
and we’ve used lots of research to inform this, for example: tobacco culture.
While some people smoked cigarettes in this period the main way people consumed
tobacco was wither by sniffing it (snuff) or by smoking a pipe. We’ve also had
to look at the literature referenced in the play and the lives and poems of writers
like Baudelaire, Swinburne, Wilde and Kipling in order to be sure we know the
meaning that work would have to the characters in the play.

Research is just one strand of our work that informs the staging of the play but it’s really important in understanding why characters act the way they do. It also means that as
much as possible the our decisions about the play are based in fact and
not supposition.

Friday, 16 March 2018

Come hell or High Wateris a community led production that focuses on people's hopes and fears for a future after Brexit. With a diverse cast of 25, some of whom have
experienced long-term unemployment, the criminal justice system and addiction
services, it draws
on a series of workshops, discussions, improvisations and interviews that have
taken place since October 2017.

Composer Finn
Anderson has created a live score of original music and songs for the
production. We sat down with him to find out more about the process.

You’ve worked with
the Citz on a few productions now (Buckets, One More Sleep ‘til Christmas), how
does Come Hell or High Water compare?

In terms of the process it has been completely different to
anything I’ve worked on here before, or anything I’ve ever worked on! We’ve
been working with the group since October. The first two months were just us
all getting together, drinking tea and coffee, and talking about Brexit and
what it means to be British. It was a very open space to share views and
debate, and to get to know each other. The next stage was trying to shape those
conversations into a piece of theatre. It feels like we’ve created a community
in the room that has then become a cast. That is really unique.

This is the first time that I’ve worked on a production at
the Citizens with lots of songs. I really love writing songs, and marrying
music and words together. This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to do
that with the company here which has been really exciting. It’s also unusual as
nearly all the words in the play, and definitely all the lyrics, are verbatim –
they’ve come from real interviews with real people across Glasgow and Scotland.

So in all of those ways it is completely different to my
previous work at the Citz!

How much work did you
do in advance of rehearsals and how much is developed in the room?

The preparation phase was really the time we spent early on,
having conversations over tea in the rehearsal room. During this time cast
members also interviewed their friends and family about what it means to be
British, about Brexit and about how it might impact their lives and about what
it means to be living in Glasgow – whether you are a refugee that has recently
moved to the city or you have lived here all your life. A lot of the content
that has found its way into the script has come from these interviews, as well
as our discussions in the room.

Were there opposing
views in the room?

Yes there were opposing views in the room! And it’s so rare
to have a space where a group of people can openly discuss their conflicting
views, and at the same time work together towards a shared goal. It’s great
because the group of participants have also now become a really good group of
friends too. I think what has been really key is creating a supportive space
where everyone feels they can share openly and won’t be judged for it.

What does your role of Composer entail?

As a composer I always tend to take musical style for any
piece from the story, the characters and the setting. My role here is slightly different
as I have the added responsibility of authentically representing different
people’s opinions. So, rather than selecting a musical style what I’ve done is
focus on what people have said and how they’ve said it, taking the rhythms of
someone’s speech and using that to inform the rhythm of the music. For example,
if someone said something really fast, or they had particular emphasis on a
specific word, I’ve tried to incorporate that into the music.

My task has been putting all our different conversations to
music without losing the original meanings and intentions behind the words. I’m
aiming to create something that is accurate as well as theatrically and
musically exciting. This has been a really fun challenge for me as composer.

Finn and the cast in rehearsals

What styles of music
can we expect to hear in the show? Is it quintessentially British?

What I’ve done with the songs is pull out small excerpts
from the interviews and tried to find hooks in them. I’ve selected parts that
sound like they have a good rhythm or could be repeated as a chorus. So, it is not a classical sound; it is not a
particularly folksy sound. It has quite a catchy, upbeat feel to it.

Within that there will also be elements of Scottish folk, as
well as different music from the many different cultures in the room, and the
rich musical heritage that comes from all those different places. I’ve tried to marry that with a musical
theatre style.

Wow, that sounds like
a really interesting mix!

It is a bit bonkers but somehow it works! It’s nice because
everyone involved recognises their own voices in the songs.

What has been your
favourite part of the process?

There are a few things. Firstly, getting to work with a
group of 25 singers is very rare as a professional composer in the theatre –
you hardly ever get to work with a company of that size. It’s also been
brilliant working with such a diverse group of people on a joint project. Meeting up with everyone on a regular basis
over the past few months has been very special. Personally, it has really
reconnected me to the joy of making theatre, of why I do it and why it is
important. I’ve also loved getting to explore this particular topic through
music.

And what about the most
challenging part of the process?

I would say the music
– because all the lyrics are verbatim a lot of the music is very fast, and the
rhythms are complex and difficult to learn. Trying to sing in the rhythm of
someone else’s speech is actually quite tricky! These guys are doing an
incredible job, but that’s a challenge for all of us.

The other big challenge is that balance between creating an
exciting and theatrical show and being authentic. As soon as you put some sad
music under something that was said, it suddenly makes it ten times sadder than
that person intended. That’s fine if you are telling a fantastical, magical
story but when you are putting real people’s words on stage you have to be more
sensitive about using music to support those words without allowing it to
change the meaning of them. This piece has been a real challenge from that
point of view.

Is there anything
else you’d like to share about the project?

I think this production is special because there is room for
everybody and all their different opinions. I feel like the atmosphere we’ve
created in the rehearsal room, where people of all ages, backgrounds and
abilities feel their voice is valid, is something that should be found in more
theatre foyers and audiences around the country. For me, it is exciting to be
in a theatrical environment where everybody comes from completely different
backgrounds but we are all united in a shared passion. I think that theatre has
a unique ability to achieve that.

Friday, 9 March 2018

Rehearsals for Long Day's Journey Into Nightbegan this week and it's been wonderful to welcome old and new friends to the Citz to get torn into this epic American drama. Here, Assistant Director George Nichols shares his insights from behind the scenes:

With a masterpiece like Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night you want to make the most of every second of your rehearsals in
order to bring the play to life; there’s no use in a slow start. So once we had
all introduced ourselves and looked at Tom Piper’s stunning and atmospheric design we
got straight to it. Dominic expressed his excitement at working with such a talented
group of actors (George Costigan, Dani Heron, Lorn Macdonald, Bríd Ní Neachtain, and Sam Phillips) on what is surely one of the greatest plays of the twentieth century and he laid out how he sees the production and what he hopes we will
achieve in the coming weeks.

As we started to work through the play the cast were struck
by how the dialogue sounded so natural and real whilst also having a deep
poetic resonance. This tempers the ugliness of much of the play, which deals with
the raw wounds and bitterness at the heart of the Tyrone family. Even though
we’re still in the early stages the tension and drama that permeate much of the
text already feel very present which bodes well for when we get to share it
with our audience in five weeks time.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we were blessed with the company
and tutelage of our dialect coach Penny Dyer. The accents in Long Day’s Journey
are particularly important as they act like a map of the characters’ lives. We
should hear their heritage, and in the case of James and Jamie their
professions too. The specificity of Penny’s work allows us strive toward an
authentic and detailed production. As the play is epic in scale, both in length
and subject matter, it is important we create a world that is specific and
thorough in order to provide the best platform for this tornado of a play to
take place. Useful companions in this regard are the many biographies which
cover the life of Eugene O’Neill. While it would be unhelpful to suggest the
play is an exact telling of O’Neill’s life, biographical information helps us
to fill in the gaps in the world we are creating.

Already we are finding the work thrilling, and as we
progress the play reveals more and more of its secrets to us. We’re looking forward
to the coming weeks, and to getting completely swept away by the tornado.

Thursday, 8 March 2018

To mark International Women's Day 2018, we are celebrating our inspirational muses, who have been watching over our foyer for several years.

The Citizens Theatre Muses with Robert Burns & William Shakespeare, 1977By John Crallan

The muses were created specifically for the Palace Theatre, which shared a frontage with the Citizens Theatre, by sculptorJohn Mossman. Mossmanis responsible
for many of the public statues in Glasgow, including the statues of Robert
Burns and William Shakespeare which also stand in our foyer.

The statues represent the
inspiration the muses have provided in the fields of Music (Euterpe),
Comedy (Thalia), Tragedy (Melpomene) and Dance (Terpsichore).

They lived on top of the Palace Theatre until 1977 when the building was
demolished.

Citz Exterior Facade, 1977 by John Crallan

The muses, as well as the statues of
Burns and Shakespeare, were rescued before the Palace's demolition by members of the company, who recognised their historical significance and their vital connection to the origins of the theatre. They later found a
new home in the Citizens Theatre.

Shakespeare being rescued from The Palace roof, 1977

As part of our redevelopment we'll be returning them to pride of place on top of the building, but they need a bit of TLC first! The muses have suffered over the years and require substantial restoration. Our planned conservation work will preserve the statues and improve their appearance by:

Restoring missing and damaged parts

Removing paint spots

Preventing water damage at vulnerable locations

Artist impression of redeveloped Citizens Theatre, set to open to the public in late 2020

The restoration of each muse will cost £10,000. With just 100 donations of £100 each, we can save one of the muses, return them to their rightful place and ensure they keep inspiring future generations of theatregoers and Glaswegians.

If you'd like to contribute to the Citizens' redevelopment campaign and help #SaveOurStatues you can make a donation of £100, or any amount, here.

The restoration of our muses is part of our wider building redevelopment to conserve, repair and expand our much loved home in the Gorbals. To find out more about the project please visit wearecitizens.citz.co.uk.

Tuesday, 27 February 2018

We are just over halfway through rehearsals. Which feels mad to say as the time has flown by! So here is a half time update on Three Sisters rehearsals so far.

I was nervous on my first evening session with Lung Ha, because of how close I knew the company were. They are one of only a few ensemble companies in Scotland, training throughout the year, with some of the actors being there for 10 to 20 years. To shake off nerves, I decided to throw myself into the initial company warm-up and any apprehension about me joining - from myself, and the performers -was soon shed. A lot of dancing was had, and the closeness of the actors was really highlighted during some improvisation exercises around themes from the play. I left feeling welcomed and excited! A good start to my Lung Ha journey.

Once rehearsals started, we initially explored the story. Chekhov is complex and multi-layered, and so the first challenge was understand the narrative and characters. Chekhov writes more than one main part (a rare gift in theatre), which means there are love triangles, rivalries and many subplots to explore. We did this through character sheets, a giant storyboard that stays on the wall as a reference point, and many discussions along with scene work. We even had a day with just the three sisters, improvising around their relationship. This has led to a beautiful relationship between the three actors (Emma Clark, Emma McCaffrey and Nicola Tuxworth) that is authentic, trusting, and is clearly reflected in their scenes together. Although this is a classic text, it’s really enjoyable observing the actors find ownership, and their own interpretations of the characters.

Russian theatre director Konstanin Stanislavski directed the original Three Sisters with the Moscow Art Theatre, in the 1900’s. Although it became regular in their repertoire, Chekhov was unhappy with the original direction as he felt it was too “exuberant” to show the subtleties of the text. Maria Oller (Lung Ha’s Artistic Director) emphasised from the start that she wanted the acting to be as natural as possible. So once we had explored what was happening in the scene, and what intentions were, we looked at stripping back, and being in the moment. This has been an interesting challenge as the company have previously come from doing Moliere and a fun, interactive show at the Zoo, which both call for a very different style of acting. But the naturalism is paying off - the most heart breaking moments come from a character’s acceptance in their fate, or a moment of vulnerability on stage, and as we progress more moments like that are appearing.

It would be hard to talk about the first half of rehearsals without mentioning the giant RFO elephant in the room. A few weeks in, we got the heart-breaking news that Creative Scotland had decided to cut Lung Ha’s regular three year funding. This was a hard hit to the company, but Michael, Maria, the Lung Ha support team and actors did an incredible job at rallying support, fighting their cause while simultaneously continuing on with rehearsals. I have never been more inspired than watching their response to that situation. That really showed me the heart, strength and hard work that goes behind Lung Ha - everyone goes above and beyond what their role entails. I was surprised at how much the news affected me - in such a short space of time, how invested I had become in the company, and how lucky I felt to be working there. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, and thousands of people rallied behind their cause, ultimately leading to a turn around in Creative Scotland’s decision. I didn’t realise there had been a fog in the rehearsal room, until it was lifted the day we found out the funding had been reinstated. We have a new drive and energy moving forward.

We’ve got the story, the style of acting and blocking (where people move on stage) down. The next step is the most exciting one - bringing the world alive. This includes working on our transitions, being in the moment in the scenes, and adding the live music! Next week we have the musicians flying over from Finland who will be adding their original compositions to the production, and I cannot wait!

Monday, 15 January 2018

In the 1930s hundreds of military volunteers from across
Scotland joined the Spanish Civil War’s legendary International Volunteer
brigade. Our upcoming Circle Studio show 549: Scots of the Spanish CivilWar follows four miners who leave their homes in East Lothian to join the conflict.

When author Mark Gillespie spotted the play in our Spring 2018
programme he got in touch to share his own connection to the International
Volunteer Brigade. Mark’s great uncle, John Joseph Lynch, was one of the many
Scottish volunteers that travelled to Spain to support the fight against fascism.

J.J.Lynch during his Royal Navy training.

Mark has published a short book When the Gorbals fought Franco telling his great uncle's story. J.J.Lynch was born in Ireland but
as a young boy his family moved to a tenement flat at 25 Hallside Place, in the
Gorbals area of Glasgow. Aged just 20 he travelled to Europe where he fought in the battle of Jamara and Brunete - two of the bloodiest conflicts of the Spanish Civil War. In his book Mark explains how J.J.Lynch's experience growing up in the Gorbals shaped his political views.

If you'd like to find out more about J.J.Lynch's story you can buy a copy of When the Gorbals fought Franco for £5in person at our Box Office or online now.

549: Scots of the
Spanish Civil War is presented by Wonder Fools in association with the
Citizens Theatre and the Brunton Theatre. The play runs in our Circle Studio from 13 – 17 Feb. Tickets for most performances are now sold out. Visit citz.co.ukfor more information on all our Spring 2018 productions.

Monday, 8 January 2018

The Citizens Theatre would like to pay our respects to Tommy Smith, who sadly passed away in December 2017.

Tommy Smith

Tommy was born in Portugal Street, across the road from the Citizens Theatre, and became a highly-regarded self-taught Gorbals artist. We at the Citizens were privileged to get to know him when we discovered his true talent: as a vampire hunter.

Tommy became an important part of our 2016 Community Production, 'The Gorbals Vampire', sharing with us his recollections of this legendary event that took place in the Southern Necropolis in 1954. He painted a particularly vivid picture of a night when 100s of local schoolchildren, armed with makeshift weapons, hunted down the mythical 7-foot tall 'man with the iron teeth'.

Tommy had been seven years old at the time, taking his place alongside all the other brave children, proudly toting his Tomahawk made out of a stick and a baked bean can. He lived to tell this tale, along with many others tales of growing up in the Gorbals which will be treasured by those that met him and retold for many years to come.

Monday, 30 October 2017

Assistant Director Tess Monro shares all the latest news from the Lampedusarehearsal room in her second blog. This week the team have been exploring the use of space and music, as well as how the story can be updated for 2017.

The second week of rehearsals on Anders Lustgarten’s Lampedusa has sailed by; the week of “Stu, sand and storytelling” as it has been affectionately christened by the creative team. Specifically, we worked through the play scene by scene focusing less on shape and picture in favour of music, connection and detail.

An essential aspect of week two was working closely with composer Stuart Ramage who has been a constant and invaluable presence in the rehearsal room. Together, we have experimented with the use of music to underscore the narrative progression of the play and the experiences of Denise and Stefano. Following Louise Mai and Andy’s responses to the text with meticulous attention to detail Stu has been able to improvise compositions as we delve deeper and deeper into the play; investigating how we can use live acoustic guitar to enrich our response and exploration of the text and the emotional trajectory of the characters. The interlacing of music into the production has been an illuminating part of our process, highlighting and unlocking key transitional moments in the play. We are confident that with Stu’s original composition our productionwill be an evocative, affecting and distinctive response to Lustgarten’s distinguished text.

After much discussion with the cast and creative team this week we decided to bring our story forward from 2015 into the present day. From these discussions specific ideas for adjustments to the script were born and presented to Lustgarten, who has generously updated the original text. In 2017 the migration crisis is far from behind us and the switch to Universal Credit continues to threaten the financial security of those relying on the government benefit system; thus, the original themes in the play feel more pressing and urgent than ever. Due to the nature of this play and Anders’ powerful and challenging perspective, it is important to us that our production retains the sense of urgency of the political issues raised in the 2015 production. This we hope to achieve by incorporating contemporary politics for a modern audience, in the spirit of the original text; by challenging the status-quo and shining a light on the experiences of many suffering as a result of socio-political injustices of today.

Week two has also concentrated on combining the space; introducing both Denise and Stefano’s respective worlds and working with Louise Mai and Andy in the space, together. Director Jack Nurse and the cast have experimented with building the sense of connection between Denise and Stefano and their seemingly distinct experiences within the narrative. Specifically, how and when their individual narratives and performances intersect and how to fluidly and imaginatively transition between their stories. The synthesis of Louise Mai and Andy’s rehearsals, the worlds of Denise and Stefano and the integration of music into the narrative has added a vibrant, inventive and dynamic energy to the piece and generated an invigorating momentum as we press on and into week three.

Monday, 23 October 2017

Lampedusa Assistant Director Tess Monro offers an account of what's been taking place during the first week of rehearsals, and how Director Jack Nurse has been working with the cast and crew to draw out the core issues in the play.

The first week of rehearsals on the much anticipated Scottish premiere of Anders Lustgarten’s bold, incisive and moving masterpiece, Lampedusa, was a reflection of the urgent and assertive attitude of the play itself.

Lampedusa tackles European mass migration from a global perspective and its impact on British domestic politics. But, more importantly, as Anders and director Jack Nurse were keen to stress on day one of rehearsals, this is a play about the personal experiences behind the politics. It is the story of two strangers finding hope and connection where they least expect it.

The first two days of rehearsals were spent with Anders Lustgarten. Under his guidance we descended into the deep tissue of the play with table work and group discussion. This process illuminated the enduring vitality of the politics in the play and, crucially, the necessity to maintain the sense of political urgency encapsulated in the original production (Soho Theatre, London 2015). Consequently, Anders proposed to update the original text; to encompass the current political climate in Europe and post-Brexit Britain. Citizens Theatre’s Lampedusa will therefore be an entirely new, cutting-edge and unique production.

Next order of business was get the play up and on it’s feet. Director Jack Nurse’s process is curated to mirror his overall vision for the production. The play introduces two independent and diverging experiences of mass migration from a global and domestic perspective. As the play progresses parallels between the characters begin to emerge and unite their experiences.

The first week of rehearsals was centered on working with Louise Mai Newberry and Andy Clark individually to get better a sense of the shape and arc of each character within the text. Week by week as we continue to work through the play we will begin to integrate these rehearsals and, furthermore, the physical and emotional journeys of Denise and Stefano.

With the mid-week arrival of composer Stuart Ramage came the infusion of live music into the rehearsal process. In this production the lyrical quality of Lustgarten’s writing and the centrality of Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté’s song Lampedusa will be supported and enhanced by live acoustic guitar. Stu’s presence in the rehearsal room throughout the three-week process will enable the development of a musical score in tandem with the exploration of the text.

Week one has also been about acclimatizing to the intimate performance space of the Circle Studio and confronting the challenges of balancing the contrasting worlds of Denise and Stefano while they inhabit same physical environment. At this stage in the process possibilities are infinite and continual investigation, trying new and diverse ways to respond to the text and use of space, is essential and encouraged.

Week one is not about nailing ideas to the ground but rather discovery, imagination, playing and interrogating ideas; skills that Lousie Mai and Andy demonstrate with verve and dexterity. Working at an impressive and efficient pace we are off to a flying start.

Thursday, 5 October 2017

After a sell-out run in 2016 Trainspotting returns to the Citizens this month

Audiences and critics were blown away by last year's production.

“And if you want further proof that Trainspotting is one of the
great, iconic narratives of the last 25 years, then you should beat a path to
the Citizens’ Theatre, where this sharply-timed revival of Harry Gibson’s stage
version – emerging just in advance of Trainspotting’s film sequel – is playing
to packed houses and standing ovations.”

About

Internationally reputed for its repertoire the Citizens Theatre presents a mixture of contemporary versions of classic plays and new Scottish drama. We work with writers, directors and companies that have a reputation for producing outstanding work to deliver truly inspirational live theatre.

Located in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, the Theatre is led by Artistic Director Dominic Hill and is one of the few self-producing houses in Scotland.

Our Citizens Learning team is committed to enhancing the lives of all kinds and ages of people in Glasgow and beyond, through community productions, projects, classes and educational activities. See Take Part.